I have a thaaaaaaaaaang for pears, eating right out of hand and using them as the star ingredient in healthy desserts. If I was a partridge, I’d never fly out of my pear tree –the fruit is just so dang delicious and nutritious. Pomegranate Roasted Pears with Pine Nuts & Blue Cheese is a super simple yet sorta fancy-schmancy dessert or side dish that can be made in 30 minutes! 

You know what they say, “A Pear a Day!”  Okay, I made that up, but for good reason. Pears are one of the lower-calorie picks in the produce department, with a medium, 6-ounce pear topping out a tad over 100 calories.  Pears pack an impressive amount of fiber (almost ¼ of the daily requirement) and this fiber creates a feeling of fullness that can help with weight management. In addition to low calories and high fiber, athletes will love this juicy fruit in their training diets for a bushel of other reasons. Thank you, pears, for your complex carbs that create energy to fuel my athletic performance, everyday baseline functioning and even keep me thinking straight. The abundance of potassium in pears helps maintain balance with the essential fluids in the cells and organs in our bodies.  And, this was news to me, pears are also a good source of copper. Adequate copper helps optimize the uptake of minerals, and iron, which improves the synthesis of red blood cells.

Pears so fabulous, they have their own paparazzi!

So, enough of this healthy talk, let’s talk about delicious. How about a comforting, home-style pear cobbler, crisp or crumble (like the Cranberry Pear Ginger Crumble I made after a cooking class where I prepped way too many pear slices)?! Or, for an super-easy, yet sophisticated dessert, poached pears always impress – I like to either simmer in strong, bottled ginger ale or make a seasonal sauce like in my recipe for Poached Pears with Pomegranate Mascarpone Sauce (this one a video demo for Austin Fit Magazine).

Baked pears are also another beautiful, no-brainer fruit dessert to prepare for family and friends (or just yourself). Today, I’m sharing my recipe for Pomegranate Roasted Pears with Pine Nuts & Blue Cheese  -it’s a sweet-savory showstopper!  I made it for my friends at Litehouse Foods using their Simply Artisan Reserve Blue Cheese Crumbles, a rich, creamy and bold bleu that has brought home the gold from the American Cheese Society.

The bold attitude of blue cheese is the perfect complement to the winter season sweetness of pears and pomegranate – toasted pine nuts add a buttery, slightly crispy topping that can’t be beat! Only 5 minutes to prep and 25 to 30 minutes to bake, this is a fast and fabulously fit dessert worthy of a place in your life

Serve straight out of the oven, with cheese bubbling . . .or use cooled leftovers to perk up bare lettuce leaves!

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Pomegranate Roasted Pears with Pine Nuts & Blue Cheese

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Total Time

35 mins

 

Roasted pears decked out in blue cheese, pomegranate and pine nuts make an elegant yet ridiculously easy side dish, salad or dessert to start of the New Year on a healthy note . . . also lovely in any season.

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Fruit, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 large Bosc pears, not overly ripe
• 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 cup pomegranate arils
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 1/3 cup brown sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Wash pears and slice in half lengthwise. Use a melon baller to scoop out seeds and core, leaving a well for blue cheese filling. Place pears, cut side up, in glass baking dish or cast-iron skillet.
3. Slice lemon in half and squeeze juice over cut side of pears so that they don’t discolor.
4. In small skillet, over medium-high, toast pine nuts about 3 to 4 minutes, shaking pan as needed, until lightly golden brown.
5. In small bowl, toss together crumbled blue cheese, fresh pomegranate arils, and toasted pine nuts. Divide this cheese mixture among the pear halves, pushing down into the indentation.
6. In small bowl, combine pomegranate juice, apple cider and brown sugar. Drizzle a bit over pears and pour remainder around pears sitting in baking dish.
7. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, basting once or twice with liquid in dish. Pears are ready when softened and cheese bubbling.